PITTSBURG -- The Pittsburg State University baseball team will return to the friendly confines of Al Ortolani Field to play host to MIAA rival Missouri Southern State University Tuesday (Apr. 21). First pitch is set for 3 p.m. (CDT).
 
The Gorillas and Lions will wrap up their three-game midweek series with the contest. Pitt State posted a 12-6 win in Pittsburg on Mar. 25 and MSSU evened the series with a 14-12 victory at Joplin, Mo., on Apr. 7. Tuesday's game will be broadcast on ESPN 100.7 FM and be available online on the KSHQ app.

Pittsburg State is 33-8 on the season and 20-8 in MIAA play. The Gorillas are ranked No. 8 in the most recent National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America (NCBWA) NCAA Division II Top 25 poll released last Wednesday (Apr. 15); and Pitt State is ranked No. 10 nationally in the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Top 30 poll released last Tuesday (Apr. 14).
 
The Gorillas posted a pair of non-conference road wins over Southwest Baptist University (15-3) and Missouri University of Science & Technology (9-5) last week. Pitt State wrapped up its non-conference action with an unblemished 13-0 mark against non-MIAA foes.
 
Missouri Southern is 29-13 overall and 24-8 in the MIAA. The Lions have posted a 20-3 record since Mar. 13 after posting a 9-10 mark through their first 19 games. MSSU swept a three-game MIAA series from Missouri Western State University this past weekend.
 
The Gorillas lead the MIAA in batting average (.358), scoring (11.8 rpg), runs (482), hits (512), RBI (450), slugging percentage (.583) and on-base percentage (.477). Pitt State leads NCAA Division II in on-base percentage, ranks second nationally in scoring, fourth in runs, batting average and slugging percentage and ninth in D2 in hits.
 
Senior outfielder Dagen Brewer leads the MIAA with a .458 batting average. He has collected 66 hits, 18 doubles and 20 home runs, scored 62 runs and compiled a school record 86 RBI. Brewer leads D2 RBI (2.10 pg) and slugging (1.014) and ranks second nationally in home runs.
 
The Topeka native has twice been named NCAA Division II National Hitter of the Week this season. Brewer tied MIAA records with four HRs and 10 RBI in the Gorillas' 21-7 win over FHSU on Apr. 3. He set an MIAA record for consecutive games hitting streak at 37 games earlier this season.
 
Junior outfielder Eric Bacon is hitting .412 with 64 runs scored, 14 doubles, four triples, six home runs and 59 RBI. He leads the MIAA and ranks fifth in D2 in runs scored. Bacon also leads the MIAA in hits (73) and ranks sixth in the conference in batting average.
 
Junior infielder Jadyn McNealy (.336, 51 runs, 37 SB) ranks fourth in D2 in stolen bases despite missing seven games due to injury. Senior outfielder Isaac Webb is slashing .359/.438/.693 on the season. He has 14 doubles, five triples, nine home runs and 62 RBI to date. Webb became just the second Pitt State player in program history to hit for the cycle on Apr. 3. Senior catcher Grant Nottlemann also is batting .379 with 41 runs scored, seven doubles, five home runs and 39 RBI. Nottlemann ranks 13^th in the MIAA in batting average.